COLUMBUS, Ohio - On Saturday, while his teammates were scoring a 5-3 win over Chicago, Blake Wheeler was in the TD Banknorth Garden press box, sharing a ninth-floor suite with assistant coach Doug Houda. They watched the game, then studied and discussed replays of certain plays.
A day later, Wheeler was back on the ice with usual linemates David Krejci and Michael Ryder, recording two shots and two hits in 16:07 of action during a 4-3 loss to the Rangers. Yesterday, Wheeler was one of six Bruins to participate in a limited practice at Dispatch Ice Haus.
Such is life as an NHL rookie.
"You never want to sit a game out. You hate being in the press box watching," Wheeler acknowledged. "But at the same time, it was really good to take a breather, let your mind rest a little bit, and watch from a different perspective.
"You definitely pick up on a lot of things that you might miss on the bench. It's just kind of refreshing to just see what it looks like from up top. You can put that into your game when you're out there and point you in the right direction again."
Coach Claude Julien hasn't been shy about viewing playing time as a privilege when dealing with youngsters, even high-impact players. Last year, Milan Lucic was sent to the press box for up-high observation. In the playoffs, a healthy Phil Kessel was yanked out of the lineup.
The early guess, from management and the coaching staff, was that Wheeler would start 2008-09 in Providence, then perhaps be worthy of a midseason promotion. But from the start of training camp, Wheeler showcased excellent skating and strength on the puck that made him a scoring threat.
In the games leading up to being scratched, though, Wheeler's legs weren't whirring the way they were earlier in the season when he was among the league's brightest rookies. When he watched Saturday, Wheeler noticed right away that the most successful players - new teammate Mark Recchi had an especially high-energy game - were the ones skating effectively.
"The biggest thing that stands out when you watch is that the guys who are very aggressive and on the puck, those are the guys who stick out the most and are getting the most positive results," Wheeler said.
"The biggest thing for me is that I kind of got into a bad habit of keeping my feet still when I got the puck. For me, it's getting my feet moving and going north-south.
"I think [Sunday's game] was a good step in the right direction in heading toward the other team's net and trying to use my speed to get going the right way instead of standing still."
Fluto Shinzawa can be reached at fshinzawa@globe.com. 
